Converting the Raspberry Pi to a wireless print server

Conclusions

With just a few steps, you can easily add a multifunction printer with only one USB port to the local network with the help of your Raspberry Pi as a mediator. When properly configured, your mothballed, older printers will have a new, meaningful lease on life – and you can save money in the bargain.

Using SSH

If you have an HDMI display and a USB keyboard, you can configure the Rasp Pi directly on the device itself. Of course, for a compact and unobtrusive print server, you won't want to have a monitor and keyboard attached. The other option is to configure and manage your Rasp Pi from another computer on the network through SSH [3]. The basic installation also comes with an SSH server, removing any obstacles for an SSH-based installation.

Once you know the IP address of your Raspberry Pi system – I will be using 192.168.0.100 in this example – a call to ssh pi@192.168.0.100 opens a console on the Rasp Pi for the default pi user. The password after the basic installation defaults to raspberry. (You will want to call passwd to set a new password at the earliest opportunity.) See the HowTo Corner at the Raspberry Pi Geek website for more on setting up SSH on the Raspberry Pi.

The standard Raspberry Pi cases sold in the marketplace do not include space for accessories and add-ons. A DIY case built using a 3D printing service offers a good solution, but some planning is in order.